August 2005
KIA Teacher In-service August 6
The Knoxville Institute for the Arts (KIA) is an arts-in-education program that has been in Knoxville since 1985. It is modeled on a program developed at Lincoln Center and is now instituted in many of the fifty states. The Arts & Culture Alliance has taken this program and developed it to fit the needs of East Tennessee teachers. The purpose of KIA is to bring the arts into the elementary classroom and make the arts accessible to classroom teachers. It is a “hands-on” program. Teachers actually sample the activities that may later be presented to their students, as well as suggested follow-up material.
Liza Zenni welcomes the more than 40 teachers!
Annamaria Gundlach (clay artist) works with teachers
Jenny Ballard (Actor's Co-Op) works with teachers
Circle Modern Dance leads teachers
This year’s in-service program took place on August 6 at the Emporium Center. Phase I of this program is a one-day teacher workshop during which professional musicians, storytellers, dancers, actors and visual artists present sessions informing teachers about these arts and how to incorporate them into the daily life of the classroom. Artists included Actor's Co-Op, Circle Modern Dance, Annamaria Gundlach, and Georgi Schmitt. This program is funded by the Tennessee Arts Commission and several private funders.
[updated 08/15/05]
Oil and Steel: Muscle and Mind, opening August 5
The Arts & Culture Alliance presents “Oil and Steel: Muscle and Mind”, a new exhibition featuring the works of Clay Pardue and Michael Russell. The show runs during the month of August at the Emporium Center and encompasses two media: oil painting on board and metal sculptures.
Guests at the opening reception
Clay Pardue’s technique of oil painting on board primarily depicts people in atypical settings. His subjects vary widely in age and ethnicity, with background elements including industrial objects such as factories, derelict ships, and cars. He describes his work as becoming increasingly surreal in mood and in placement of figures in rigidly symmetrical spaces, depicting violent symbolism and dealing with environmental degradation, political upheavals, and terrorism. Pardue attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and the University of Tennessee. His works have won local awards and Bests of Show at the Art Center in Oak Ridge and the Arts Council juried show at the Candy Factory. He was recently accepted into the Appalachian Corridors show in West Virginia, which draws from the Eastern US and shows in September. Pardue currently teaches art at Clinton High School.
 
Michael Russell’s metal sculptures emerge from the wild clamor of sparks and fire. He learned metal skills from his father who impressed upon him the idea of metal as a means. He worked in construction before turning to education, where he now serves as a welding instructor at the Tennessee Technology Center at Athens. His sculptures speak of life: figures in transition, expressions that reflect the human condition, and shapes in balance with positive and negative space. He draws inspiration from the elegance of human sexuality, the order of the Fibonacci Sequence, or the shape of a corn chip, and he describes the challenge of working with metal as a lifetime journey of study, experimentation and discovery. An active member of the Foothills Craft Guild, he participates in their annual shows. Russell’s work has been displayed by the Athens Area Council for the Arts and during their Studio Tour held each November; his work was also displayed at the grand opening of the Emporium Center for Arts & Culture in downtown Knoxville.
The opening reception on Friday, August 5, from 5:30-9pm, is free and open to the public, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres are served. “Oil and Steel: Muscle and Mind” is on exhibit through September 3 at the Emporium Center for Arts & Culture, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Mon-Fri, 9-5pm. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance, (865) 523-7543, or visit our website at www.knoxalliance.com.
[updated 08/05/05]
Photos from the "Meet and Greet" August 4
This event was co-hosted by the Knoxville Tourism Alliance and the Arts & Culture Alliance. Thank you to the more than 75 people who gathered to greet the City Council candidates at the Emporium Center!
Jill Thompson with KTA
Sandy Hirshman greets guests
Listening to City Council candidates
City Council candidates
Mark Brown, District 6
[updated 08/04/05]
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